May ], 1901. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. 
afteeted the Ceylon ciops leaving only small 
clusters or single berries to come forward to 
maturity and those berries that do reach that 
stage are mostly damaged. 
The buds or terminal branches when sucked 
at, turn a dark green colour and are stunted 
OT bastard, having a shrivelled-up appearance with 
a black pith and black spots shewing between the 
bark and the wood. 
The damage alluded to is worst during the dry 
season when there is very little sap in our coffee 
trees, and does not shgw much during the growing 
or rainy season. I lost a fine crop about 6 cwts per 
acre this year .vith this bug. They came before ihe 
bush iires in swarms and found a safe harbour 
amongst my cwfFee. In addition to the ne.v arri- 
vals, those that had come in, and bred amongst the 
coffee for some two years unlieedad (I was noc 
aware they did any damage) added to the damage 
done. To show you what ix, number of bugs I 
liave gathered,! have had an average of 20 children 
at work collecting daily for the past 6 months and 
they have each brought in froTn 30 to 60 per diem. 
Thank goodness, they can only get a few, 3 to 5 
each, now. So that I may get a bumper crop next 
year. It was always next year in Ceylon, I re- 
member, during the leaf disease days. It is now 
quite certain in B C A that we cannot rear bug. 
and get coffee to yield crop. It is very fortunate 
however that we have a remedy, although a 
tedious one, in catching the spotted bug 
I wa? always loolh to believe that our .spotte<i 
bug did damage to coffee before I proved it by 
experiments. 
1 have, further proof this year by the fact that 
my crop is saved on the pieces of coffee Vifhere 
there is a colony of soldier-ants established ; this 
tiger-ant eternally racing about on the coffee 
keeps the bug lively, not allowing them to rest 
and do damage, even if they don't succeed in 
catching them, which they sometimes do, and of 
course the ants pull the little wretch to pieces 
and devour ic at once. I am going to set a boy 
on with a piece of meat on the end of a stick 
to trap a party of ants and distribute them 
about the plantation to help to fight the bug and 
other insect pests. I remember, I think, doing 
the same with red ants in Ceylon, to tiy and get 
rid of helopeltis or some other pesfs oa my 
cacao in Matale, 
Our red ant seems to be identical with the 
Ceylon one, that used to torment the coolies so 
when handling, where they established themselves 
and made nests amongst the coffee leaves. Only 
they don't; seem to bite so hard, or it may be 
the African negro has a tliicker hide. 
I am growing tobacco for which I can get Is 3d per 
lb. for clean in South Africa. Tea I may turn 
to good account by-and-bye also in South Africa. 
Chillies pay very well here, I have been getting 
up to 55s 6d lately for them. You in T'eylon 
seem to be having a hard struggle for it with 
tea ; low prices and exchange must al'-jer, other- 
wise it will prove serious for proprietary plaiii,ers, 
although companies may not feel it so much. 
You can never. stop rubbishy tea getting into 
your markets. People who want cheap tea or 
rubbish will and must have it, the same as rub- 
bishy coffee, tobacco, &c. H. B. 
[Our correspondent's longer essay will be given 
iti the Tropical Agriculturist, Let him send 
specimens of his new " poochie" for Mr. E. E. 
Green's report.— Ed, T.A.] 
HOW TO DEAL WITH INFERIOR TEAS. 
AN IMPORTANT SUGGESTION. 
March 20. 
Sir,— It would perhaps save a good deal of 
very inferior tea coming on to the market if the 
Tea Brokers in Colombo put an upset price on 
all tea of say eighteen cents, for the sake of a figure, 
and refused to sell any privately or publicly 
under that price. This would ensure at any rate 
in Colombo the destruction of most red leaf, 
mixed, and general rubbish, and it would not 
l).\y any one to send such stuff to England or 
Australia probably. If the Brokers did not care 
on their own initiative to take the step, they 
would do so if a resolution of the Planters' As- 
sociation and the Chamber of Commerce were 
passed, asking them to institute this rule. Any 
Broker, after such a resolution, contravening the 
agreement would be boycotted, so there would 
be no fear of any lapses from the path of virtue. 
_ The Broker would perhaps lose some commis- 
sions, but after all they are very small on the 
prices realized by such common rubbish. And the 
improved riiees we trust to get would much 
moie than recoup them afterwards. If, what is 
sincerely to be trusted, with all the hner pluck- 
ing etc., we do get the prices of tea up, the 
danger will be the severe warning we have had 
will be forgotten, and a return made to the old 
system of coarse i)lucking, with consequent col- 
lapse again. The " Thirty Committee " might add 
to their duties that of advising the Planters if 
more or less leaf should be produced. If tea were 
beinsr forced too high, it would be good policy to 
pluck coarser to prevent competition from "out- 
side, and large extensions. The Thirty Com- 
mittee should have their fingers on the pulse of 
the market and advise accortlingly. 
It is an exceeding pity tlie question of 
t..e reduction or total abolition of the 
tea duty was not brought forward by a 
.stronger debater, and properly threshed out once 
for all. If Mr. Christie, for instance, believed 
in the advisability of the step and brought for- 
ward a motion, no fear of the weight of his 
adversary's mettle would deter him from doing 
the utmost justice to his side of rhe question. 
Very possibly there are insuperable objections, 
butthey have not been brouQ-h't forward publicly 
so far, pace Mr. Harcourt Skrine. 
In its favour we have for certain the increase 
of buyers, of business generally, and Ceylon teas 
compete with t'le advantage of being in situ 
and, therefore, per se worth to a buyer their 
value plus certainly ^ of cost of transit of foreign 
teas. That is say it costs, say, 5 cents to deliver 
a 6d China tea into the blending house; it would 
be worth a l.uyer'.s while to pay 6d plus 4 cents 
for an identical Ceylon tea. Tlie grower of the 
latter would gain 4 cenis extra and the buyer 
save one. Under such circumstances can there 
be any doubt Ceylon tea both high and low 
grown would be used for preference wherever 
possible to our profit. 
To a lowcountry proprietor especially, the total 
abolition of the duty seems most desirable. If 
.some small duty is' considered necessary, Cnvlon 
tea would also, being free of it, get thp v'viia 
value of that also. 
Surely anyhow the question is worthy of a 
proper debate. LOWCOUNTRY. 
